Only a handover of weaponry by the IRA will now satisfy the majority of people in Northern Ireland, according to the DUP Minister of Social Development, Mr Nigel Dodds.
He said he rejected any attempt to equate IRA arms with the weapons of the security forces in any resolution of the decommissioning issue.
As the UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, yesterday briefed his Assembly colleagues on his meeting with the Taoiseach, Mr Dodds accused the Irish Government of trying to create a way around decommissioning that would "enrage law-abiding people".
"It is rich to hear demands from Sinn Fein for so-called demilitarisation when they will not take even the first step to dismantle the IRA terror machine," Mr Dodds said.
"Having already achieved a litany of concessions ranging from the destruction of the RUC to the entry into government, IRA/Sinn Fein are now being offered further concessions in the form of dismantlement of the security forces," he added.
However, Mr Trimble's address to his Assembly party is understood to have given no indication of an imminent deal, and according to a party source he summed up his Dublin meeting with Mr Ahern in a few words, "because the Irish have nothing".
The Ulster Unionist Party MLA for South Antrim, Mr Duncan Shipley-Dalton, said there had been good exchanges at the meeting, but hopes of progress were fading.
He said the party leadership would be "lynched" if it attempted to go before tomorrow's meeting of the Ulster Unionist Council without a suspension of the institutions or Mr Trimble's resignation as First Minister, which was viewed as the least preferred option.
"Everyone is disappointed, but we will have to try to make the best of it and see what happens over the next few days. A suspension is seen as the bast way of soft-landing this process," Mr Shipley-Dalton said.
The president of the Ulster Unionist Council, Sir Josias Cunningham, yesterday repeated his belief that either a suspension of the institutions or Mr Trimble's post-dated letter of resignation would be enacted before the UUC meeting.
He said it would be "highly satisfactory" if a unifying resolution could be put before the council.
Sir Josias added that he did not believe a motion from Mr David Burnside, which linked UUP participation in the Executive to the reversal of the Patten proposals on RUC reform, would be tabled.
"It may not be a short meeting because when people come a considerable distance they want to hear what is going on, although it may prove to be a warmer and more unified meeting than last November," he added.
Meanwhile, the 32 County Sovereignty Movement yesterday claimed that the British government was continuing to pursue its objective of forcing republicans to abandon their principles "under the banner of peace".
"Each step along this cunningly, well-planned process has been littered with pseudo-crises to assist the passage of the unpalatable surrender of one republican principle after another.
"Regardless of the veneer attached to this latest sell-out, there are republicans watching closely who will not be fooled and who will continue to challenge British rule in Ireland," the statement said.